OBA Archives - Its a Hero

A week ago from Sunday I had the privilege to attend a meet and greet style event at Jim Alesci’s Place in their new Solon location with the Ohio Blogging Association gals! I arrived before anyone else because apparently I overestimated how much time it would take to drive to Solon from Akron (PS. only 25 minutes). My early arrival provided ample time for me to do a little exploring of the store on my own beforehand.

I had not visited the old location so I have little point of reference in that regard, but I can say from the moment I began wandering, I felt like I was home. See, my Italian mother no longer lives nearby, so I’m no longer receiving my daily dose of Italian family stuff. Ha!

But in all seriousness, this place is incredible. The staff (comprised of mostly family or “extended family”), were the most hospitable group of people (outside of my own family, obvy), that I’ve ever met. They did the very thing I’ve come to expect from my own family — go above and beyond to make sure we were well fed, comfortable and above all, happy.

I loved hearing about how Alesci’s really is a family store. Jim Alesci’s grandfather started baking bread in the states shortly after arriving from Italy. From there, the family opened up a storefront in the 90s. And Alesci’s has grown into a Cleveland tradition.

First things first… let’s talk cheese. Or as we say in Italian, Antipasto. I loved them all. Every last one of them: soft cheeses; hard cheeses; new and old. Every. ONE.

But one in particular stood out among the crowd — Frank’s Gouda. At least that’s what I think it’s called. Cause I was in a cheese coma. In fact, just thinking about this cheese right now? Makes me delusional. No joke.

Just when I thought my belly couldn’t be more full (PS. you can never have too much of this gouda), we were led on an official tour of the store. I loved meeting the whole family and hearing each of them give their personal spin on the store. Each of them has a unique story that truly gives Alesci’s that family feel that is insanely special.

[Pictured clockwise from upper left: Italian Beef Slider;
Pancetta Pasta Salad; Eggplant Parmesan; Roasted Beet Salad]

But let’s get to the food. Gah! All of the family-style food! Fifteen “tasting” courses. I say “tasting” because honestly, it was all family-style. I feel deprived of real Italian food, so I really, really, indulged in the courses. Like, I gave it my all to try and finish each course.

[Pictured clockwise from top: Sicilian Pizza; Roasted Veggies; Chicken Pot Pie]

One of the woman who was helping to serve us is not technically family; but she is definitely Italian. And as she checked on me several times to make sure I was satisfied with the meals. I think she uttered something along the lines of I’m sorry about the portions… to which I replied “are you serious,” and followed it up with a comment about how that is SO typical Italian mother of her. Ha! Italians always, ALWAYS, make way more than they actually need for a crowd of people. In fact, I’ve come to expect it from my own family. Every function. Every party. Every big event.

Aaaaand then they came out with “dessert.” Really?? This was INSANE. I am definitely particular about my canoli’s (because I make a badass canoli), and the Alesci canoli definitely knocked it out of the park. Plus? The napoleon. Wow. Wow, wow, wow.

I will tell you that I actually walked out with two bottles of montepulciano, pepperoni rolls (made with homemade bread) for dinner, and several, several, desserts. Oh, and a totally full tummy and happy heart. I loved every second of my experience at Alesci’s and I cannot wait to go back. Also? I need more Franks Gouda… already. Ha! #allthecheese

Thanks, OBA and Alesci’s for hosting us!

Disclosure: I was invited to attend the Ohio Blogging Association meet-up at Jim Alesci’s Place. We received complimentary food and drink, as well as gift cards to Alesci’s and a t-shirt. As always, all opinions are 100% my own

Yesterday evening I had the pleasure of attending the Mitchell’s Homemade Ice Cream #SweetUp Event, hosted by Edible Cleveland and the Ohio Blogging Association. And my heart is exploding with happy from this event!

If you’re unfamiliar with the Mitchell’s Homemade Ice Cream’s flagship store in the heart of Ohio City, here’s the deal:

It opened just recently in the old Moda building. The first floor features an ice cream shop lobby with plenty of seating options. When you’re order your scoops at the front counter, you have full-view of where the magic happens (aka – where they make the goodies!).

We headed upstairs to a big party room overlooking W.25th, ABC The Tavern & Town Hall and on the other side — the ice cream kitchen! Not only was the space beautiful but the layout was awesome. Moosh enjoyed the views and took it all in!

After saying hi to lots of friends, Mike Mitchell, co-founder of Mitchell’s Homemade Ice Cream, talked to us about his vision for ice cream, sustainability, and the city that he loves — Cleveland.

It was refreshing to gain his perspective on why they will not (ever) ship their ice cream — sustainability. Mike Mitchell’s philosophy is that if you live in Cleveland, you should eat Cleveland ice cream. If you live in Phoenix (his example), eat Phoenix ice cream! The carbon footprint of ice cream being shipped is crazy ridiculous. Could not agree more!

I felt like a complete food-nerd because I was in shock and awe of Mike and his food philosophy. During his Q+A session Moosh kept running through the crowd fistbumping everyone — including Mike Mitchell! They were all awesome sports!

The Agrarian Collective supplied some super yummy + healthy eats. Ari kept signing “More! More!” so it even has foodie-baby’s stamp of approval.

After the Q+A session and the snacking, it was time for our ‘perfect ice cream scoop’ training and official taste-testing! Although ice cream, and in particular Mitchell’s, is my ultimate weakness, I’m in the middle of a 7-day clean-eating cleanse. So I skipped the delicious ice cream.

But Ari didn’t. Nope. Not even a little bit. Kid came to eat!!

Post-ice cream a big storm rolled in and knocked out most of the power down W.25th in Ohio City, which sounded of some pretty serious fire alarms in Mitchell’s HQ! 2 babies in the house, screaming, but we survived! And lucky for us, Mitchell’s has powerful backup generators (the patrons at surrounding restaurants = not so lucky!).

Several minutes later the Fire Department showed up to make sure we were all in the clear. Mr. Fireman, axe and all, was cool enough to pose for a couple of pictures as Moosh looked on admiringly. <3

You would think that after a wild night and tons of sugary ice cream he would have stayed awake all night. Totally, totally, not the case! He didn’t exactly fall asleep on the way home. He wanted me to hold his hand (yes, from the front seat. Awkward angle = ouch. But I loved every second of it) the whole way home. When we got home, I put him straight to bed. We snuggled for a few minutes and there were zero tears; zero fussing. Just one exhausted Moosh.

If nothing else, I walked away with more friends, a worn out baby, and an even deeper appreciation of Mitchell’s AND the city of CLE!